Our Story
by Dentro del Infinito
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia face their biggest obstacle until now... Their feelings. Will they be able to accept them and keep advancing? Read and find out! Possible change to M rating on later chapters. Currently under revision.
1. Insomniac

_Hi everybody! How ya doin? I hope you're great, really. This is my first IchiRuki fanfic, so I hope you enjoy. Any input, suggestions, praise or whatever is always welcome. So please, scroll down and let this begin!_

**THIS IS F'ING IMPORTANT!**

**To help you guys enjoy this story (and, in fact, any other) a little more, I will ask you to pay attention a couple minutes. It's no big deal, I assure you. It is just a little technique that will help you get a little more from the fic. I'll ask you for a little favor, though. If you're currently listening to some kind of music, please put it on pause it for a couple minutes. Here it is:**

**First of all, close your eyes and visualize (imagine) your kitchen. Really, visualize it. With the refrigerator, the floor, the walls, the color, etc. Done? Cool. Now, watch yourself getting a fruit from the refrigerator. Ok? Great, now I want you to visualize getting that same fruit, but from your point of view. Feel the fruit. Is it cold? Feel the feeling of the refrigerator's door while you close it. Is the fruit a pear, an orange, an apple? Taste it. Feel its flavor. Now, I'd bet anything that that visualization felt a lot more realistic than the first one. Now, I want you to immerse yourself in the same way in the story you're going to read. If I describe how cold the air is, I want you to feel that sensation. Allow yourself to experience all the feelings and sensations I describe, because that will help you to imagine better and, thus, enjoy more the story. This will not only help you enjoy the fic more, it'll also help you with your general reading comprehension. If you are able to visualize properly while you read, you'll remember a lot more things in a text. If nothing of that matters to you, I won't blame you at all haha. But I'll ask you to give it a try. Ready? Here we go.**

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_**Chapter 1: Insomniac**_

It's nighttime in the Kurosaki residence. The small light of a lamp illuminates faintly the desk of a 15 year old boy in the second floor of the house. You can observe this kid lying in his bed, listening music in his mp3, entranced. His name is Ichigo, and despite how common his appearance is, there's something that stands out above the rest. His hair is orange; a trait that always has caused him trouble. Suddenly, the boy hears a noise in the closet at the side of his bed.

"Still awake, eh Rukia?" said the boy, with a smirk on his face. "Do you need me to tell you a story or something so you can sleep?" Another smirk.

"Shut up, idiot" said an annoyed girl, while opening the closet's door. The girl's name was Rukia, and she appeared to be very young. She had black hair, with a solitary bang that fell in her face, and big violet eyes that were the most appealing thing of her appearance.

"As if I could fall asleep after you tell me a story. I bet I wouldn't be able to close my eyes after hearing it" she said, with a little anger in her voice.

"You'd be surprised" Ichigo said, staring at her. "I've had to make my sisters fall asleep a lot of times when my old man isn't home, so I think I'm kinda good at it" he finished.

"Pff… I can't imagine it at all. I'm sure your sisters only acted asleep so you got out and stopped bothering them" now the black-haired girl was the one speaking with sarcasm in her voice.

"Maybe" Ichigo conceded. "But I still think that it'd be the best option for you, unless you have a better idea."

The girl looked at him angrily during some seconds before giving up. "Ok, I'll take the offer. But the story better be good" she said, smiling dangerously.

Ichigo, without losing his composure one bit, smirked. "I'm sure you'll like it."

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_After a long time I finally decided to update this. The chapters are currently under revision, and I wouldn__'t be surprised if I needed to fix more things. My English was awful when I first uploaded this, so there are many things wrong. Oh well, enjoy._


	2. The Party

_Welcome to the__ second chapter! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter (well, maybe enjoy isn't the word that I'm lookin' for, it was too short for that). Also, sorry about the introduction being longer that the chapter xD.__ Anyways, let's start with the business. Lights, camera, Bleach!_

_

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**Chapter 2:**__** The Party**_

The next day, Rukia woke up after having one of the most restorative sleeps she could remember. "Who'd think that the idiot would be so good telling stories?" she yawned. After opening her closet door, she realized that the orange-haired wasn't anywhere in the room, so she supposed he'd be in the bath. During a second she considered going there and spy a little, just to annoy him, but she rejected the idea. It would be too troublesome to explain if she got caught, so she decided to wait until he came back into the room to be able to get a proper shower.

Ichigo was in the shower in that moment, lost in thought. The water was really hot, but that wasn't something that bothered him at all. In fact, he loved having long showers with almost boiling water, even when he knew that it wasn't the best thing to do. The water helped him to relax, something that he needed a lot since his student lifestyle changed to the very more stressing lifestyle of a shinigami. While he enjoyed the water, he began to think about the person who, without proposing it, had changed his life. Rukia, the shinigami who, because of a fate twist, he became substitute. Even when he had accustomed to protect her, he had to recognize that the girl was really strong. He still remembered the fight against that little bird's Hollow, and when he went to the very Soul Society to rescue her. She looked so helpless… but after the Arrancar's attack he had very clear how strong Rukia was. She easily was captain's level. It was something amazing, given her appearance, so fragile. Sure, it also contrasted with her personality, pretty animated for a body that small. In the end, Rukia had changed his life for the best, and he had to thank that. Even when he, in fact, was unsure that everything he felt for the girl was a simple friendship. After all, Rukia wasn't ugly at all, and her personality (as ridiculous as it sounded) was pretty attractive.

"Ichigo!" yelled the girl named in his thoughts. "Hurry up, I wanna have a shower!"

"Fine, yelling isn't necessary" muttered the orange-haired. Sadly, that same personality shook him up from time to time. He turned off the tap, still hot with the flowing water, and came out the shower. Then, he realized that he only had brought his sandals and towel to the bathroom, not all his clothes as he used to. He realized that he had to go back to his room only covered with the towel, and sighed. He really didn't care; he had always been in top shape, so he wasn't ashamed by his body. He exited the bath, and saw Rukia outside his room, waiting for him to get out. Without any change in his expression, he went to his room with normality. Rukia, who was watching to the other side, turned to him; ready to talk "It was about time, I thought you'd never ge…" she cut the phrase, seeing Ichigo with his upper body naked. Surprised, she blushed a bit, looking curiously at him. Ichigo noticed the girl's blush, and smirked while teasing her "Wow Rukia, am I really that hot? Looks like I made you speechless! Well, I don't blame you, it could have happened to anybody" he said, still with a playing voice.

"Idiot" said a still blushing Rukia "What do you think you're doing half-naked in the house?"

"Hey, it's my house" the orange-haired said. "Don't cherish hopes, I'm gonna put on some clothes right now, so enjoy while you can" he smiled before entering his room, closing the door.

"Idiot" repeated the shinigami. She quickly went into the bathroom, before her roommate could surprise her with something else.

Once inside, she proceeded to get off her clothes, and to get into the bathtub. That was what she liked of being the second using the bath; she could have longer baths with nobody saying anything to her. While the hot water filled the bathtub, she began to think about the recent encounter with Ichigo. Even when she had seen him plenty of times in similar condition, product of various fights, she had never observed his body that well. He really was in good condition. Still, what surprised her most was that warm feeling that was forming in her body, after seeing Ichigo. What was wrong with her? She wasn't a teenager to be so influenced with that kind of thoughts. Still, she couldn't help but shudder when she thought of Ichigo, showering in that same bath. She shook her head, blushing. What the hell was happening to her? He only had seen him shirtless once and she was already imagining that kind of things. Definitively she had to stop reading romantic mangas; they were bad for her mind. She hadn't realized that thinking so much had caused her to forget bathing, so she began soaping herself and enjoying the water. Later she'd think what would happen with Ichigo.

In that moment, the mentioned was in his room, finishing dressing, while he tied his snickers. Today he'd join Keigo and the others in the mall, so he had to go kind of presentable. He stood up from his bed, and looked at his outfit. The mentioned snickers, black hi-tops with white cords, white skinny pants (he had always liked fitting clothes), a pink t-shirt with an Adidas logo, and on top of that an open black leather jacket. He didn't look bad. He was ready to leave, when he saw Rukia exiting the bath (unlike him, totally dressed). He gave her a look and told her where he was going. Rukia simply asked him to be ready in case a Hollow happened to bother during the evening, to which Ichigo simply answered showing her the capsule that contained Kon. When he went down the stairs, he found his sisters glued to the TV, looking that Mr. Kanonji's program. He smiled, opening the door and getting out to the street. The mall wasn't precisely close, but Ichigo preferred to walk always that he could, so he wore his red headphones and began walking.

In her case, Rukia had her own plans for that evening. The girls (Tatsuki, Orihime and Rangiku) had invited her to go to the mall and shop, gossip… girl things. Even when Rukia wasn't thrilled, she finally went along with it. After checking her outfit (a black t-shirt with a Chappy print that always shook Ichigo up, along with sky-blue skinny jeans and white snickers) Rukia was ready to leave, always with her cell phone in the pocket, in case she needed it, and began walking in the same path Ichigo was walking some minutes ago.

Once in the mall, Ichigo began to wait for his friends. Meanwhile, he looked at the people entering and exiting the mall, while he sat in a comfy sofa. There were a lot of pretty girls talking among them, making it hard to go and approach one. He sighed. He really didn't know why he had never cared about having a relationship with anybody; after all he didn't think he was that bad-looking. Maybe it was because a part of him feared rejection, but he doubted it could be only because of that... even though it made sense, after all it wouldn't be good at all for his image to be rejected by anybody, although if he rejected somebody, it'd be a different story, but it seemed that nobody had enough interest in him to even consider the idea. There was also Orihime, who felt attracted to him… why to deny it? It wasn't something hard to realize. And despite how cute she had grown, he couldn't consider her more than a friend. Maybe she was really hot, but her personality didn't convince him. He had considered having something casual with her plenty of times, but again his reputation stood in the way, besides he didn't want to hurt her if she held any hopes and wanted to have something more serious. Right when he was in the middle of his thoughts, he saw his friends approaching, and stood up.

"Hey guys! I was starting to think you'd never come" he said, without angering too much.

"Sorry Ichigo, we went to buy some things before coming here" a too smiling Keigo said.

"Oh really? And what is it?" asked a curious Ichigo.

"Check it out" said Mizuiro, after greeting him.

Ichigo, still curious, looked the bag that Mizuiro showed him. What he saw surprised him a little.

"You guys bought cigarettes, beer, rum… and a magazine?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't that shocked with the alcohol and the cigarettes, after all he wasn't a kid. But he wanted to know what a magazine had to do with this.

"Don't look at the magazine in here, Ichigo." His friend Chad warned. "Wait until we are outside"

Ichigo nodded, still his eyebrow up. Along with his friends, he left the mall. Once outside, they began walking to a house Ichigo didn't know.

"Hey guys, where are we going?" he asked. Keigo was offended by the question.

"Ichigo, it can't be, we've been friends since we both entered the school, and you still don't know where my house is" he complained.

"And why should I be interested about where the hell your house is? In case you didn't know, I'm not interested in men" Ichigo retorted.

"You should already know where it is, I've invited you countless times, but you are always busy" Keigo said.

Ichigo simply remained silent. He didn't feel like explaining to his friends that the reason why he was always busy were the studies, and lately Hollow hunting, even when Chad already knew. By that moment, they had already arrived at Keigo's house, and he began to unlock the door. Once he opened it, he entered the house and turned the lights on, while happily welcoming his friends.

"Welcome to the House of Pleasure!" he said cheerfully.

Ichigo, along with the others, couldn't hide an amazed face with all he saw. Keigo had a 42' plasma screen, connected to a 5.1 Surround sound system, and a PlayStation 3, Keigo's most beloved possession. Along with that, they could see that the table was full with potato chips, canapés, and everything they could think to peck.

"Wow Keigo, you exceeded yourself this time" Mizuiro mentioned, before remembering something. "Your sister, where is she?"

"She is away, traveling, so we have the house for ourselves!" Keigo said "We have alcohol, cigarettes, potato chips, and this!" he said while he pulled out the magazine from the bag.

Finally Ichigo could see what the magazine was about, and he realized it was the last issue of Playboy. Surely because of Chad they'd been able to obtain all this, he was sure nobody would ever ask him if he was underage. Ichigo observed for a minute everything they had to have fun, and he took a determination.

"Hey, dad?" he mumbled "Yeah, it's me, Ichigo. Hey, I called to tell you that maybe I'm not sleeping home tonight, a friend invited me and maybe I'll stay here tonight. Yeah, I'll be careful. Yes, dad. Yes, I like women, it's just a friend, don't worry" he said, a vein appearing in his forehead. "See you tomorrow, bye" he hung up.

"Got permission to stay?" Mizuiro asked. Ichigo answered calmly "It's impossible to no to get permission, I never go out. Besides, my old man has no reasons to forbid it to me." Mizuiro nodded.

"Well, shall we begin?" Keigo asked, who already opened the beers, one for each one of them, and was busy taping the rum bottle.

Ichigo smiled lightly "Of course".

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_Phew… finished at last. Oh well, I'd like to thank my man Frank for betting this story, really, thanks buddy. You know, I think that not even Ichigo is able to resist the power of the alcohol xD. So, I hope you all liked this, ya know how it is. Questions, praise, tomatoes, lemons, whatever, you know that reviews are always welcome. See ya in the next chapter!_


	3. The Mall

_Oh well, so this is the 3__rd__ chapter of __**Our Story**__. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and I think this one won't let you down. Here we go!_

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**Chapter 3:**__** The Mall**_

Rukia was exhausted after running the blocks that separated Ichigo's house from the mall. After a short while an average hollow had appeared, and for some reason she didn't want to bother Ichigo, so she took care of him. Even when she was completely recovered with her full powers, it took more time than she had expected. Definitively those months of inactivity had left a mark, so she hurried up to her destination. Once inside, she sat in a bench, trying to catch her breath, ignoring some curious stares because of how tired she was. Just before getting up, she noticed an unmistakable orange hair. Remembering that both of them were going to the same place, she almost went to talk to him, but she preferred to stay in her place and watch him. After all, she almost never had any chance to see how Ichigo behaved when she wasn't around. She observed that Ichigo watched thoughtfully a group of girls, who were chatting cheerfully, also looking at him from time to time, even when Ichigo didn't seem to notice. Strangely, Rukia was a little upset with the girls' behavior. She felt something like rage when she observed all those girls look at Ichigo, obviously talking about him, and this showing no reaction to this. Was he really that naive, or he just did it to appear cooler in front of them? Neither of them was a choice Rukia liked. But suddenly she realized that what she was feeling was something suspiciously similar to… jealousy. She, a Kuchiki, was jealous? The mere thought of something like that was ridiculous. But still, that didn't appear to dissipate that feeling. She was about to leave when she watched Ichigo's friends arrive, and show him something inside a bag, to which Ichigo looked surprised. She wondered what could it be when she realized that they were moving to where she was, probably towards the exit. Immediately she slipped away, to avoid being seen. Nonetheless, she didn't noticed Mizuiro looking at her before she left.

Rukia made her way to the meeting point accorded by the girls, a Starbucks coffee that was in the mall. They were already installed when Rukia arrived.

"Hey Rukia, you finally made it" Tatsuki greeted.

"Hey girls, how are you doing?" Rukia greeted cordially, giving a peck in the cheek to each one of them.

"Right now we were talking about you, Rukia" said a smiling Rangiku.

"Really?" Rukia was surprised; she had no idea what they could've been talking about.

"Of course" replied Tatsuki "You don't think you'll be able to run away forever, don't you?"

Rukia sweat dropped. She understood what this was about.

"Tatsuki is right, Rukia" Rangiku said, smiling. "So, tell us, once and for all. What's going on between you and Ichigo?"

…

Minutes later, the girls walked by a clothing store of the mall, Rukia still with her cheeks red. Why did they have to suppose that there was something more than friendship between her and Ichigo? They were friends, and that was it. Even so, when she remembered Ichigo her cheeks turned even redder. Why did they have to bother her in this moment? She sighed, defeated. Who knows…?

Maybe they were kind of right after all.

Tatsuki, meanwhile, observed Rukia's flustered face, amused. It all had started as a simple joke, but it looked like they had hit the nail on the head. Orihime just walked silently along with the other girls, deep in thought. Did really her friend Rukia felt something for Ichigo too? After they explained it to her (*), she now understood a lot better what it meant that both her and Rukia had similar feelings; it meant that only one of them could reach her objective, while the loser would have to resign herself to watch the other be with her love. She didn't want to go through that, she loved Ichigo and cared about Rukia. How could her avoid a situation like that?

After a little walk, both Rukia and Orihime were abruptly taken out of their thoughts, after hearing a loud cry made by her friend Rangiku. Both of them quickly looked at her, searching for the cause of the commotion, understanding almost immediately.

Before them stood the most impressive pile of female underwear they had ever seen.

"AAAAAAAHHHH! Somebody hit me, please; it's too good to be real!" a thrilled Rangiku continued shouting "AUCH! I was just joking" she pouted. Tatsuki had taken her a little too literally.

"Oh! Please, excuse me, I did it without thinking" said a blushing Tatsuki.

"It doesn't matter, forget it." Said a fully recovered Rangiku "Let's better worry about the treasure that is in front of us!" she said, with stars in her eyes.

Internally, each girl thought that she indeed had a point. There were too many clothes, and they were too cheap to miss the opportunity. Almost without thinking, Orihime, Tatsuki and Rangiku picked some clothes and went to the fitting rooms to try the clothes. Rukia stood, looking at them speechless.

"Rukia-san, hurry up, bring some clothes and come to try them!" yelled from inside the fitting room an excited Orihime.

Just in that moment Rukia seemed to react. "Ah, I'm going!" she said while hurriedly she picked a pair of clothes and began walking to the rooms. This was being more interesting than she thought it'd be.

…

In that moment, a certain orange-haired guy wasn't having that much fun. After finishing the beers, the guys had begun consuming the rum, mixed with Coke, each one in his glass. Sado and Mizuiro were entranced playing poker in the table, while Ichigo and Keigo were busy playing a popular soccer videogame in the Playstation.

"What's up, bro!" yelled an excited Keigo, while he overcame Ichigo's defense in the game. "It's been a while since the last time you played, Ichigo, I'm kickin' your ass!" he said cockily.

"Shut up, idiot" growled an annoyed Ichigo. He hated losing at anything, even in a videogame. "You'll see, I'm just warming up…." Keigo didn't let him finish.

"Woooah, people, he's alone in front of the keeper, he's going to shoot, he has it… GOOOOOOOOOAAAL, DUDE, FUCKING GOAL!" he yelled, hitting Ichigo's shoulder, provoking him. "What happened, huh? You better stop 'warming up' and start playing seriously, or I'm really going to humiliate you" he smiled widely.

After that, the vein in Ichigo's forehead seemed about to explode. Using all his will, he sighed deeply, and gulped down the glass of rum he had at his side. Frowning a little, he resumed the game.

"Eh, Keigo, we ran out of rum and we aren't even 'happy'!" yelled a focused Mizuiro, without looking away from his cards. "All In" he said, while he bet all his chips, a big stack, and revealed his cards, a Kaiser and a ten of hearts. The cards in the table were an ace of hearts, a ten of hearts, a five of clubs, a four of 'pikes' and a two of diamonds.

"Hmm" Chad murmured, while revealing his cards. It was a pair of aces, one of clubs and the other of diamonds.

"NOOOOO!" yelled a disconsolate Mizuiro. "How it is possible that you beat me when I go All In after I won the last five games? It isn't fair!" he reclaimed.

"Bad luck, Mizuiro" said an impassible Chad.

"Eh, Chad, Mizuiro, if you finished playing go to the store in the corner of the block, and bring Vodka or something, we can't keep on if we don't have anything to consume" said a focused Keigo.

"We are going… c'mon Chad, the store is like two blocks away" Mizuiro said, while he and Chad left the house.

"Where were we?... Oh yeah, I was kickin' your sorry ass" said a smiling Keigo.

"Don't brag too much, idiot, the game isn't over yet" growled Ichigo.

…

By their part, the girls were enjoying themselves a lot. Rangiku and Orihime were busy looking between the biggest size underwear, while Tatsuki and Rukia looked in smaller sizes, both somewhat jealous internally.

"Do you think it has something to do with food?" Tatsuki whispered to Rukia "I heard that if you eat a lot of chicken they may grow a little bigger…" she finished, blushing a little.

Rukia, by her part, was a little thoughtful. She never felt ashamed because of her body, or anything like that, but she had to admit that being in front of such heavyweights made her a little… uncomfortable. "I don't know, I've never heard anything like that. In any case, you still have time to grow, don't worry." she told Tatsuki, reassuring. By her part, she couldn't say the same, that is, she had more than enough time, but with time passing slower at Soul Society, she had never worried about something like that. You only had to think about Yoruichi, who had time to develop more than enough in one hundred years.

After their little talk, Rukia went to the fitting rooms to see how a fine lace fitted her. While she walked to the room in order to try the clothing, the girls reunited outside the rooms while they waited for Rukia.

"Eh, Orihime, found anything you like?" asked Tatsuki to her friend.

"Yep, I'm buying this" she replied while showing a red bikini with embroidery. "Are you buying anything?" she inquired.

"Nah, I didn't found anything I liked." Tatsuki said, shrugging. "What about you, Rangi…?" she didn't finish, because said person was covered by a pile of different ensembles.

"Don't worry, I'm only buying these" she said, carefree. Tatsuki and Orihime just watched, both sweat-dropping.

"Eh, Rukia, are you ready?" asked the blonde.

"Yeah, I'm going" answered Rukia, while she finished looking how the garment looked in her. It was a black lace, which made her feel very confident when using it… you never know when you may need to seduce somebody, she smiled.

When she came out, she went along the girls to pay the clothes they were going to buy, and rose and eyebrow slightly seeing the pile of clothes that Rangiku carried. She already knew the compulsive shopping habits of the shinigami, but they never ceased to amaze her completely.

…

"Eh, guys, what do you think about we play something?"Said a bustling Keigo.

"What it is about?" asked Ichigo, with a little curiosity.

"We put this deck here, and we draw out cards, and if, for instance, a king comes out, everybody will have to drink, if a four comes out we have to say a phrase before drinking, and so on…" answered Keigo.

"Ok, sounds fun" answered Mizuiro, motivated.

What none of them knew was that that would be only the beginning of the night.

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_(*) Don't know if you remember it, but there is a part in the manga (and in the anime) in which the girls ask Rukia if she likes Ichigo, and Orihime thinks that if she also like him then they could beat him (something like two against one xD), now I'm assuming Orihime understands how the things work._

_Phew! At last I managed to finish this. Had to do a lot of stuff the last weeks, but I'm back. I think the next chapter will be up a lot sooner, so you won't have to worry. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again to my man Frank for betting this chapter. See you next time!_


	4. The Game

_Well, as promised, this is the fourth chapter of __**Our Story**__. This is the longest chapter yet, so be happy xD. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has been kind enough to leave a review, and to read this fic. But I gotta say it would be awesome if the silent readers could leave a review, even if it's short :), it's really encouraging. Okay, here are the answers to the reviews!: __**deadpoolhulk:**__ Thanks! Here's the next chapter :). __**Blueberry Absinth:**__ Done! :D. __**novicestar:**__ Again, done! Hahaha, btw, nice fics you have in there :). __**more-chan:**__ Hahahha Thanks, and yeah, it's easier for me too xD. __**Secret Starr:**__ Here's the next chapter :) ! __**falconrukichi:**__ Don't worry about it ;) _

_Well, after that, we're ready. Here we go!_

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_**Chapter 4:**__** The Game**_

A deck of cards was spread over the table with its cards face downward, around an empty glass of whiskey. At a side of the glass, there was a detached sheet, with some words scrabbled on it, relating to the values of each card. For instance, a two meant cascade, a three meant phrase before drinking, and so on. Keigo, Ichigo, Mizuiro and Chad were sitting around the table, square, and each one at a side of it. At the center were the glass and the cards.

"Ok, so Ichigo is the first one to draw out." Keigo said.

"Okay" Ichigo said. He drew out a jot, so that meant…

"Hmm, let's see… yep, 'I've never'. Mizuiro said.

"¿'I've never'?" Ichigo inquired. He had never heard anything like that.

"Yeah, I've never" Keigo answered. "It's a game to get information about anyone you want. If I say, 'I've never drunk alcohol' I have to drink, and so you. Do you understand?

"Yeah, of course. Okay, let's see…" Ichigo began to think about something he always wanted to know, but had never asked. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. "I think I got it. I've never… wanted to have anything with Orihime." He finished. He quickly became surprised seeing his three friends drinking from their glasses of Orange Vodka. "Wow, even you, Chad?" he quickly asked.

"Yeah" answered him. "You can't deny that Orihime is pretty cute" he continued. "But, being honest, she never took away her eyes from you" he finished, smiling lightly.

Ichigo became surprised at how uncomfortable he became hearing that. Nonetheless, Keigo didn't let him continue thinking.

"What about you, Ichigo? Did you really never liked Orihime, not even a bit?" he said, with an incredulous look. "I'm starting to think that you may be blind, buddy. Haven't you seen her? She's fucking hot, dude!" he completed. "Really, Ichigo, are you sure you're not from the opposite sidewalk?" he asked, while getting a little away from him, with an expression of discomfort this time.

"Of course not, you idiot!" yelled Ichigo, a little louder than he thought. "Just because she has a good rack doesn't mean that I have to like her!" he said, frowning.

Keigo, nonetheless, didn't appear to be too convinced. To avoid more trouble, Mizuiro hurried to draw out the next card. A two of hearts.

"Cascade!" yelled an excited Keigo. "Well, if you don't know, we have to all start drinking at the same time, without stopping. When Mizuiro decides to stop, then the one who is at his side, in this case, Chad, can stop drinking. Once he stops, just then I can stop, and so on. That means that if someone decides to drink his glass up at once, the rest doesn't have another choice than to wait for the one that's at his side to finish, or to his glass to empty." He smiled. "Well, do we start?"

"Sure" Mizuiro said, nodding. "One, two… three!" he said, while all of them brought the glasses to their mouths, and began drinking.

…

"Well girls, today was awesome, see you later." said a smiling Tatsuki, while she, Rangiku and Orihime said goodbye to Rukia. After going shopping, they had gone eating some ice creams, and to gossip about people they knew. After all that, the time to say goodbye had come. Orihime and Rangiku went to the first's house, while Tatsuki accompanied them on the way to her home. Rukia, by her part, returned to Ichigo's house.

"See you girls, take care!" yelled Rukia while she waved to them. After losing their sight, she began walking on her return to Ichigo's home. She really had had more fun than she thought possible with the group of girls, which had surprised her pleasingly. While she walked, she couldn't help thinking about Ichigo. She wondered if he was already home, or if he still was with his friends in the mall. Anyways she would soon know, as she was already reaching Kurosaki's residence.

"Hey, Rukia-chan" Isshin cordially greeted her. "You're already here, come in."

"Thanks, Isshin-san" answered the black-haired, smiling. Ichigo's father could be irritating sometimes, but he always got her smiling with his silly things. After entering and taking her shoes off, Rukia went to Ichigo's room to say hello to him.

"Hey, Ichigo! I'm ho…" she didn't finish the phrase, seeing the orange-haired was nowhere to be found. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nine o'clock. "Bah, how weird… it's late, isn't Ichigo supposed to have come back already?"

"Just in case, Ichigo isn't sleeping here tonight." Isshin informed her, while he passed over there. "He told me he was going to sleep in a friend's house, so don't expect him to be here until tomorrow." He said calmly.

Rukia, by her part, was a little surprised. Never before Ichigo had stayed night somewhere else, that she knew. The closest to that was when Ichigo trained with the Vizards, but nothing like staying at a friend's house. Rukia supposed that she shouldn't be so surprised, after all, at the end, he still was a normal teenager. She sighed, while she stretched in the orange-haired's bed. Suddenly, the idea that this was the moment to discover what Ichigo hid in his room came to her mind. She stood up from a jump, while she went to revise the drawer that was closest to her. She smirked. This was going to be interesting.

…

"Ehh… it iss a king of clubs! Hahaha" The alcohol was beginning to have an effect on Mizuiro, modulating was already a task a lot harder than it would normally be. Nonetheless, he wasn't the only one affected by the degrees of the beverage. Chad was a lot more talkative than usual, and Keigo was also feeling a little dizzy, but Ichigo was affected a lot more noticeably. The orange-haired was in an exceptional good mood, also more talkative than normal, and with a clear tendency to laugh about anything, something also shared by his friends.

"Haha, Mizzuiro, dudde, you're drunk" smiled fraternally Ichigo, while tapping his friend's shoulder. "By the way, what did ya do witth the king?" he asked, the second time in the night.

"Icchigo, idiot, don't you rremembar?" asked Keigo "I told you that everry time that a king came out you had to pput a little of your drinkk in the glass of the centre" he said, as if it was something that even a baby was supposed to know.

The mentioned glass was now completely full, a mixture of Vodka, orange juice, rum, Coke and Sprite. In other words, a bomb.

"Uuuuuhh!" said an excited Keigo. "The glass is full! The next who draws out a kinng will have to drink tha glass up!" he said, with tears of excitement in the eyes.

"Haha, I feel pity for that poor soul" smiled Mizuiro, while Chad drew out an ace of hearts.

"Looks like we'll all have to drink" Chad said, to who the alcohol, even when had made him dizzy, didn't affect his communicative faculties as much as the others.

"Cheers, guys!" Ichigo said, while rising his glass in the air, hitting it with his friend's glasses. "I'm doin' this for you, guys!" finished, while draining his almost full glass of rum with Sprite at once.

"Cheers!" chorused the others, while swallowing of their own glasses.

"It's my turn" Keigo said, drawing out a card. "A jota of diamonds" he smiled.

"Hey, guys, wait a minutte, gotta go to the bathroom" Ichigo said, while standing up. After a couple steps, he hit his knee with a point of Keigo's sofa. "Ow, fuck!" he let out. By their part, the guys began to laugh noisily.

"Hahahaha, eh, Ichigo, try not to destroy my bath, please!" said between laughs Keigo. Ichigo, opposed as how he would normally have reacted, began to laugh too.

"Hahahaha, well sorry, it was a little miscalculation." He said, before he began to walk to the bathroom again.

"Hahaha, I never saw Ichigo this bad before" commented Mizuiro.

"Whadda heck you talking 'bout, Mizuiro?" answered Keigo "You're all drunk, too."

"Hahaha" laughed the mentioned, without realizing that Keigo was serious.

By his part, Ichigo, after emptying his bladder (it was a pain in the ass for him to maintain himself steady and don't make a mess in Keigo's bath) was washing his hands, and soaking his face. "Fuck, I'm all screwed up." He mumbled. His face was a disaster, his eyes were too reddish, and on top of that his expression didn't help a bit. He soaked his face again, rubbing energetically, and exited the bath.

"Ichigo, I hope you didn't break anythin' of my bath, did ya hear?" Keigo smiled.

"Nah" Ichigo said, while he seated again.

"Well, a jot came out, soooo… I've never" Keigo smiled. He had used the time Ichigo spent in the bath to think about an appropriated question. "I've never… liked, or like, Rukia-chan" he finished, smiling, while he brought his glass to his lips.

…

"Atchoo!" Rukia sneezed. "Wow, really there isn't anything interesting here" she sighed. She had already finished revising Ichigo's room and hadn't found anything uncommon, the most interesting were a couple fashion and style magazines the boy had put away. Nothing incriminator with which she could blackmail him later. She was about to give up when she realized that she hadn't checked the bedside table he had at a side of his bed. She opened it and began revising. "Let's see… earphones… pens, a couple of old papers… a manga… and… a box?" she surprised. "Ichigo is taking pills?" she wondered while she opened the box, which was labeled as "LifeStyles". To her surprise, it didn't contained pills; instead it had a strip with some squared aluminum bundles, with a circular shape inside of them. "What is this?" she wondered curiously.

…

Ichigo, even with all the alcohol he had in his organism, during an instant thought he should have hit Keigo for asking that. And even more after seeing Chad and Mizuiro grabbing their glasses and drinking from them too. He couldn't finish getting angry, in any case, when he saw himself taking a long drink from his Sprite Vodka glass.

"I knew it! I told you, Mizuiro!" Keigo yelled excitedly, seeing his friend drinking, unmistakable sign that he had hit the nail in the head. "And tell me, Isshigo, since when?" he asked, a smile in his face.

Ichigo shrugged. "Dunno, Keigo, it just happened" he said, with half-a-smile. "But, tellin' you the truth, I don't think I'll have anythin' with her" he finished.

His three friends seemed surprised with the commentary. "No? Why? Didn't ya just said that you liked Rukia?" asked Mizuiro.

"Yeah, I find her cute and all that, but I dun't think she'll wanna have anything with me" Ichigo finished.

"Dunno, you know, today when we were in the mall I saw Rukia lookin' at you when we were showing you what was in the bagg" Mizuiro told him. "And when we were goin' out she ran out, I think she didn't want you to see her" Mizuiro finished.

"Ahh, I didn't saw her" Ichigo commented. "In any casse, I don't think it was sumthin' important. Hey, dus anybody know what time is it? He asked.

"Lemme see… it's twenty to five." Chad answered.

"Who does have to draw out now?" Mizuiro asked.

"Ehh… Ichigo, I think" Keigo replied.

Ichigo inclined and picked up a card. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. His stomach shrunk seeing a king of hearts looking back at him from the card.

Nobody made a noise during a couple seconds, until…

"HAHAHAHA! Ichigo, you gotta see your face! Hahahaha!" Keigo began to laugh uncontrollably, seeing the orange-haired contorted face.

"Hahaha, damn, Ichigo, its official, we won't see until the day after tomorrow." Mizuiro animatedly told him, tapping his friend's shoulder. Chad limited to smile with the situation.

"Well, Ichigo, ready for this?" Keigo asked his friend. Ichigo, by his part, smiled lightly. "Sure, you don't have to ask" he said, while he raised the glass with the mix. He looked thoroughly at it during several seconds, and breathed deeply. It was better to finish with this once and for all. So, in a moment, Ichigo brought the glass to his lips, and, with two long gulps, he drank the beverage up. Keigo and Mizuiro immediately cheered and applauded the feat, while Chad observed Ichigo, for any case. He had his eyes shut because of the flavor, but the opened them at the seconds, smiling widely.

"That's all? Pff, bring something strong the next time" he said, with a cocky smile.

Looking at that, the guys relaxed, and were about to resume the game, but suddenly Keigo's cell phone began to ring.

"Who the fuck could be at this hour?" Keigo grunted, while he answered. "Yeah? Yeah, it's me, Keigo… aah, it's you, hahaha… no, I ain't doing anything…" he laughed a little uncomfortably "Yeah, yeah… What? Now? You kidding me?..." the guys began to look at Keigo with a little concern "Yeah… yeah, of course… I'm fine, fuck…" he mumbled "Yeah, ok, see ya" Keigo quickly shut, looking at his friends apprehensively.

"What is it, Keigo?" Keigo asked, seeing the troubled face of his friend.

"Change of plans, buddies." Keigo said, nervously. "We have twenty minutes before my parents and my sister arrive, so help me order a little, and then you go before them arrive, please" he pleaded.

With a sigh, the three stood up, with more or less difficulty, at the time they began putting the table and the furniture into order. "Eh, Ichigo, take my bag and the rum with you, pleasse" asked Keigo "If I leave it here I'm gonna get caught, and if that happens you guys can forget bout' future reunions" he smiled weakly.

Ichigo sighed, resigned. "Okay, Keigo." When he turned around to keep ordering, Keigo stored the bottle of rum with Coke, still half-full in the bag that Ichigo would carry, together with the Playboy issue, since he wanted to get rid of any evidence, and didn't thought that Ichigo would be too mad, after all, it was a free Playboy.

After ten minutes, when finishing, Ichigo went to Keigo's sofa to pick his jacket up, but miscalculated, slipped, and almost to hit the floor, but luckily for him Chad grabbed him before he broke his face.

"Ichigo… man, you're really bad, it will be better if Mizuiro and I help you go home" Chad told him, with a little concern.

"No… it isn't… necessary… that you help me…" said a crestfallen Ichigo "I'm allight', it isn't anythin'…" and to prove it, Ichigo tried to stand on one feet, and almost falls again if he wasn't grabbed again, this time by Keigo.

"Hahaha, it'll be better that you let Keigo and Chad help you, or maybe you won't even find your house" Keigo told him, fraternally.

"Hmm…" was all the response Ichigo gave.

Chad and Mizuiro looked at each other, and between the two began carrying Ichigo. "See you tomorrow, Keigo" Chad said.

"Byyye" Keigo answered, shutting his door close. "Uff, that was close… a little more and my parents would have foun' out…" he sighed.

…

After several minutes of walking, the three boys almost reached Ichigo's home. Chad decided to ask him if he really was "fine" or if he needed to throw away some of the alcohol he had drunk, after all, the last glass was anything but a simple beer.

"Eh, Ichigo"

"…wha'?" asked the orange-haired, while he looked up to Chad.

"Are you sure you're okay like that? Really, if you feel any urge to throw up, just do it, it doesn't matter." He assured him "Really, if you want we'll take to that tree or something so you can throw away all the shit."

"It isn't anything, don't worry…" Ichigo told him, his head hung low again. "I'm fine like this, for real."

Chad didn't appear to be very convinced, but he decided to drop the topic at that.

"We're hear, Ichigo" Mizuiro told him. Ichigo separated from his friends and, slowly, walked to his door. After a little effort he managed to take out his keys from his pocket, and carefully inserted it in the lock. Trying to do as little noise as possible, he opened the door slowly, and when he saw the house totally dark and calm, sighed, somewhat relieved. At least he was sober enough to not to wake up the whole house. He turned around, and said good-bye to his friends.

"Eh, Mizuiro, Chad, thanks for coming with me" he said, with a weak smile. "I owe you one, guys."

"It wasn't anything, Ichigo, we're gonna charge that in the next reunion" Mizuiro smiled. "And… react, Ichigo. I'm sure Rukia-san wants to have somethin' with you" he whispered to him, smiling.

"Mizuiro is right, Ichigo" Chad complemented. "You never know what can happen, you better tell her before it's too late." He finished.

Ichigo smiled fully this time. He knew that he could count on his friends when he needed them. "I'll think about it. Take care, guys." He told them, saying good-bye. Once they left, slowly, and trying to make as little noise as possible, he took out his shoes and went upstairs, to his room. When he opened the door, he was amazed to find Rukia sleeping mildly in his bed. Normally he would have yelled her to get out, but in his condition, and at that hour, that idea didn't even appeared in his mind. Huffing slightly, she dropped Keigo's bag, forgetting that inside it was the Coke bottle. The bag made a sharp noise, not too loud, but enough to wake Rukia up.

"Hmm…" she yawned, while she turned around in the bed. "Who is it? What time is it?" she asked, while she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Ichigo, shocked, couldn't believe his bad luck. Just when he was at his worse the midget had to see him. He tried to remain still and to pass unnoticed, but he failed.

"Ichigo, is that you?" asked the violet-eyed.

Giving up, Ichigo answered reluctantly. "Hmm."

"What time is it? I thought you would come back later." Rukia told him, now fully awake.

"It must be like five and a half" answered Ichigo, sharply. He didn't want his tongue to betray him and to indicate Rukia he was a little drunk, he didn't want to imagine what kind of scene the shinigami could make.

"Ichigo? Are you ok? You sound a little strange." Rukia told him, with a little curiosity.

Fuck, what was missing. Ichigo burned up his last reserves of patience at that moment. "It isn't annything that you should care bout', Rukia. Now, could you please geddoff' my bed?" He told her, without being able to dissimulate his pronunciation anymore.

Rukia looked at him during long seconds, before getting off the bed, without saying a word. In the darkness, Ichigo couldn't see the smiled that had formed in her lips.

"Eh, Ichigo…" asked the shinigami, in a soft voice. "Were you drinking, by any chance?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ichigo didn't know what to say at that. Everything seemed to be downfall at that moment. "I just drank a couple beers, nothin' else" he muttered.

Rukia's smile got wider at that moment. "Ichigo, do you need me to help you lay down?" she asked, innocently. Ichigo was totally taken by surprise by that, and partially because the alcohol, he blushed deeply. "Wha…? What the hell are you saying, Rukia?" he stammered "I can lay down on my own, stop saying nonsense!" he finished, turning his face to the side, but Rukia had already noticed his blush. She moved towards him, and softly took him by the arm, and deposited him in the bed, covering him lightly with the sheets.

"Ru… Rukia" Ichigo was speechless, maybe he was worst than he thought. The Rukia he knew was being soft… and caring? With him? Suddenly he began to think that maybe it was all a dream, so he stopped thinking about it. Rukia, after laying him down, appeared to be leaving, but Ichigo stopped her.

"Eh… Rukia, come here a moment, please…" Ichigo asked. Rukia walked to be at a side of the teenager. "What is it, Ichigo?"

In that moment, Ichigo wasn't sure if what he was living was real, or a fantasy caused by the alcohol. He didn't care. Having Rukia so close… he never had noticed her fragrance like in that moment. And, almost without thinking, he leaned up, and kissed her. Softly, barely a contact between their lips. Immediately he separated from her, with the deepest blush he ever had. He didn't want to look at her, but if he had had the courage, he would have seen the surprised face the shinigami had. "Thanks for everything, Rukia…" he whispered, before laying down again and burying his face in the pillow. If he really had just kissed Rukia, he hoped that at least she would have him some pity and wait for the next day to kill him. Rukia slowly walked to the closet door, introducing softly in it. As Ichigo, she hadn't really assumed yet what just happened.

"It's nothing, Ichigo." She said, in an inaudible whisper. "Whenever you want."

* * *

_Well, I managed to update this at last. To be truthful, I don't think it'd be a bad idea if I finished the fic here, but there's a lot more coming, so... :) better for you guys! I'm waiting for your praises, questions, suggestions, lemon petitions and forth $%. See ya in the next chapter! _


	5. Hangover

_I'm back! :D. First of all, wish you guys had an awesome Christmas and that your 2011 is full of joy, prosperity and sex $%. Let's go with the reviews!: __**Thornspike**__: Yes, of course you can :). And yeah, I know how funny drunk people can be xD. __**novicestar**__: Yeah, that game rocks. Here you go! __**littlenaoki**__: Thanks a lot, hope you enjoy this one :). Well, I'm sure you guys also had been, but lately I've been completely busy, due to parties principally xD. But, anyways, I managed to finish this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. Here we go!_

_

* * *

**Chapter 5:**__** Hangover**_

The sun slipped, radiant, through the window of Ichigo's room, causing it to be completely illuminated. The orange-haired was deeply asleep, but the strong light that reached his face caused him to frown, before opening slowly his eyes, blinking several times in the process. Where was he?... The orange-haired stood up a little, looking around. He was home, which caused the second question. How the fuck had he arrived? His memories cut a little after drinking that glass full of alcohol in that game, and the headache he had didn't help him to concentrate precisely. Fuck… he definitively had gone bad tonight, and the headache he had would remind him during the next hours. It was like his head had been chopped, he didn't feel like doing anything. Reluctantly, he stood up and went to the bath, with the firm intention of having a good shower and to wash his tooth like three times at least, he knew that he could knock somebody off with the breath he had. This time he remembered to take his clothes with him. While he opened the hot water tap, he tried to remember something else, some clue that could indicate him how he had arrived to his house. He remembered that he started playing Play with Keigo, and that after that they started playing that card game… How was it called? He didn't remember. After he remembered that Keigo had made a question about Rukia… he blushed slightly at the memory. He was sure that he had confessed because of the alcohol, he was sure that sober there was no way in the world they could have made him say something like that. But now that he thought about the tiny shinigami… Did she saw him in bad condition? He remembered that he didn't have any call from Rukia, something that surprised him a little, but not too much. Surely his old man or any of his sisters told her which his planes were, and for once, she decided to leave him in peace. He sighed. He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that he was missing something important related to the black-haired girl. He couldn't do too much about it there, in the shower, so he tried to stop thinking about it and to relax a little, even if it was only for some minutes.

…

Rukia sighed, while she leaned in the bed inside the closet again. The idiot had awakened at last, and judging by the expression of his face, he had to be having one hell of a hangover. She smiled. He had it deserved for the daring he showed last night… she lowered her head, thoughtfully. What could have made Ichigo act like that? Of course, alcohol was the most obvious answer, but Rukia couldn't help but think that maybe there was something else. After all, Ichigo could be anything, but she was sure that he wasn't the type that kissed as much women as he saw when he got drunk. Or maybe he was…? She shook her head. What did she care? What had happened last night was nothing more than an accident. Sure, sometimes Ichigo said some cocky comments, but Rukia was sure that Ichigo didn't consider having anything with her. It wasn't like she was interested at all, either… no? She wasn't sure at first, but yesterday she had realized that Ichigo was completely drunk, he was the last person you'd see talking badly in normal conditions, and that's why she couldn't take seriously anything that had happened last night. She wondered if he remembered something at all. A little smile came to her lips. If the Ichigo she knew remembered what happened, she was sure he would do anything in his power to avoid her, one, because of embarrassment (even when he acted all cocky, she knew that deep inside Ichigo was a little innocent sheep) and two, for personal safety, to try to avoid the beating she _should_ give him. But come thinking about it… did he really deserved it?... Maybe he didn't, after all, he wasn't full in his senses when he did that, and the hangover seemed to be enough punishment. She would let it pass… for now.

…

Ichigo exited the bathroom looking a lot better than when he had entered it. He had put on white snickers and light blue jeans along with a purple t-shirt and a white belt. He had also cleaned his teeth thoroughly, and washed his face several times, even when he had one hell of a headache, there was no way he'd let anybody notice that. He went downstairs slowly, to find his family already having lunch. His father, Yuzu, Karin, and also the midget.

"Good evening."

"Good evening." His family greeted him, in a normal tone of voice. It seemed like he had been successful in his plan of being unnoticed. Nonetheless, he didn't notice Rukia watching him carefully, searching for any indication about last night's incident.

"Eh, Ichigo. About what time where you back?" asked Isshin, while he ate another piece of meat.

"I think about 7 o'clock, didn't see the watch." Ichigo answered. Obviously he didn't have a clue of how he came back, so he tried to say an hour that didn't put him in an uncomfortable position.

"I see. How was it? There was any pretty girl there? Did you have the chance of finally stop being so pitiful and to lose your virginity once and for all?" Isshin asked with all the normality in the world, while he ate an especially juicy beef.

Karin and Yuzu looked at their father with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, while Rukia couldn't help but to laugh her ass off after seeing Ichigo's face. He, by his part, was looking at his father with a face of complete incredulity, while he thought what could be the most painful death he could cause him. "What is your fucking problem, you old pervert!" he yelled. "What do you care about what I do, and also there wasn't any girl in that house, it was a friends party!" he said with the vein in his forehead about to explode.

"Oh, so you're into men, then? Such a shame, I always thought that you'd be the first to give me the privilege of having grandchildren… I guess I'll have to wait until your sisters do the biologically correct thing." Isshin said, with half a smile and a trace of disappointment in his voice. Karin looked like she was about to hit him, but his brother was faster.

"AAAAHHH, OLD PERVERT, YOU'RE GONNA PAY!" Ichigo yelled, at the same time that he threw himself at him, with the intention of landing a hit into his eternal torturer, but surprisingly Isshin just moved his head slightly, avoiding the hit easily. Ichigo stood there, speechless… Was he still that affected by the alcohol? By their part, both sisters were also stunned, they had never seen their father move like that before.

"What is it, Ichigo? You're really slow, don't you think that you'll be able to touch me a hair with such pathetic attempts like that." Isshin said, with a cocky smile. Suddenly, Rukia had the certainty that that was the source of Ichigo's cockiness.

"Ahhh, it isn't worth it." Ichigo growled, while he came back to the table and began to furiously cut the beef he had in his plate. Isshin just kept his smile while he looked at his still angry son. He loved getting to his nerves, and he had to admit, he had improved a lot in the past months, but not enough.

Ichigo finished his plate quickly and got up from the table. "I'll be in my room." He mumbled, while he went upstairs. "Thanks for the food" said Rukia politely, while she also went upstairs, this was her chance to trouble Ichigo, and there was no way she'd let it pass.

…

Ichigo, by his part, had turned on the computer, and was about to login into his facebook. He never really knew what had impelled him to make an account, but he guessed that having his mail full of invitations had a lot to do with it. He checked a couple of notifications, but they weren't of any relevance, just a couple photos that had been taken in the school. Seeing that it wasn't anything else to do, he logged off. He knew perfectly that he couldn't stay more time than the necessary in the page, or he would become an addict like his friends, staying there for hours doing nothing. In that moment Rukia entered the room, cutting his train of thought.

"Hey, carrot-top, how did you sleep?" the Kuchiki asked.

"Well, first of all, I closed my eyes…" Ichigo said, sarcasm dripping with each word. Rukia glared at him. "I slept perfectly fine, why would it be otherwise?"

"Well, maybe because you were… you know, kinda drunk?" Rukia said, with a smirk. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Any objection, lady?" he said, sarcasm dripping again.

"Don't talk to me like that, idiot" the black-haired said, frowning.

"Sorry midget, got carried away. Now it's better, half-a-meter?" Ichigo was now using the heavy irony artillery, even knowing the possible outcomes, which showed up right in the moment.

"You idiot" the dark-haired said, hitting Ichigo in the head and leaving a painful bump. "And to think I was concerned for you" she finished, clearly upset.

"You know there wasn't any need, I can take care of myself" Ichigo mumbled. Rukia just sighed, while she looked around the room. She suddenly noticed Keigo's bag, and remembered his plan. Now would be the best time to execute it.

"Eh, Ichigo"

"What is it, midget?"

"Would you mind telling me what this magazine is about?" Rukia said, holding the Playboy that Keigo had bought. The color quickly left Ichigo's face, who opened and closed his mouth without making any sound. Alternating between Rukia and the magazine, he finally managed to articulate a coherent phrase.

"Ejem…" he coughed. "Whe… where did you get that, Rukia?" he asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Well… you brought it in your bag tonight, along with this" Rukia said, with a light smile, while she took the Coke bottle out from Keigo's bag.

Fuck. He just got drunk but the mess was instantaneous. Ichigo sighed, trying to order his thoughts and to give the shinigami a coherent answer.

"Put that away, I don't want anyone to see it" he said, referring to the bottle. "And about that magazine… well, we could say that it is an _entertainment_ magazine" he said, trying to sound as natural as possible.

"Entertainment?" the shinigami asked. "How is that? Perhaps there's some sort of game on it, like a crossword or something?" she said, while skimming through the mag. "I don't see anything like that, they are supposed to be _entertained_ by this?" she asked, while she showed Ichigo a picture of a woman in a nurse suit, in a very provocative pose. Suddenly the color seemed to return to Ichigo's face, who blushed noticeably with the picture. "Ehh… yeah, something like that."

"How?" Rukia asked, again. "I don't see the point. What is that fun in this?"

Ichigo was suffering now, while he tried to think in the most normal answer possible and to eliminate the blush from his face. "Ehh… well… generally men buy that kind of magazines to… stimulate themselves" he finished, praying that Rukia understood what he meant.

"Stimulate themselves? How? They find motivation here or something?"

"No!... argh… I mean to _stimulate_… you know… to get horny…" Ichigo said, struggling to keep a neutral face. "When a man pass too much time without… 'doing it', he… tends to… feel bad, putting it that way. This magazine helps him to get relief.

"Doing it?" the shinigami inquired. "Doing what?"

"You know… to screw"

"To screw? Like, with a screwdriver?"

"No!... I mean… to fuck…"

"Fuck?"

"Argh! Having babies!"

"Having babies?"

"How can you not know, Rukia?" and Ichigo, desperate, made a slight pelvic movement, accompanied with a gesture with the arms. Rukia simply stared at him during some seconds, his lips curving into a smile. Finally, she burst out laughing, rolling on the floor. "Hahahaha! That's the best explanation I've ever heard!" she said, wiping out the tears from her eyes.

Ichigo looked at her laughing, completely stunned. "You mean… that you knew…?"

"How can I not know what sex is, Ichigo?" she said, with a huge smile. "I think I told you I was like ten times older than you, believe me, I've had more than enough time to find out about it." She said, with half-a-smile this time. "Doing it, to screw, to fuck, having sex, making love… was it that hard to call it by its name?" she asked.

"I…"

"Ah, and let's not forget about your 'stimulation'." the shinigami smiled. "How was it?... oh yeah, 'when a man pass too much time without doing it, he needs to stimulate himself'." A snicker came out of Rukia's mouth. "Nice definition for masturbating, Ichigo. Very… eh… soft, putting it like that"

"Ehh… WHAT?"

"Of course I know about that, dummy." Rukia said, a smile in her face. "Gotta say that for what I know, you know a lot about that" she said, with the most malign smirk Ichigo had seen her in his entire life.

"What… are you talking about?"

"Well, let's see… I've been living in your closet for like MONTHS, and I've never, ever, seen anything that indicates that you have an active sexual life… at all. Gonna admit, through, I've been surprised by how discreet you are to… relieve yourself, was it? I would at least expect some sheet movement at night, but seems that you have better places than that… the shower, maybe?"

Ichigo was completely stunned by the shinigami's little speech, with a very noticeable blush. Without much success, he tried to restore his lost pride.

"And who says I've got to resort to that…? Nobody assures you that I don't have any fuck buddy…" he said, trying to regain his composure.

Rukia snickered. "Well, sure, it's very possible that you could have something with… let's say, Orihime… but you're Ichigo, and as dumb as you are, I highly doubt it" In that moment, the shinigami's phone began to ring.

"Where is it?" Ichigo growled.

"It's a block away from the school, in that little park…" Rukia couldn't finish, because in record time Ichigo had used his badge and jumped out of the window, going for the hollow. Rukia just looked through the window, a light smile in her lips. She had done her job.

…

Ichigo, for the first time in his life, was truly happy for having to hunt a Hollow. For once they had to serve to something… and to save him from that conversation with Rukia counted too. While he leaped from roof to roof, he began to think about his recent talk… who would have thought that Rukia knew about sex? Anyways, thinking about it, it made sense. After all, the shinigami was, as she had told him, about ten times older than him. That also meant that she had… experience in the matter? That simple thought caused a puncture of what felt like a mixture of anger and jealousy. When? With who?... he shook his head. It was none of his business, after all. And, come thinking about it, it could be a good thing. Who knows the acrobatics and the tricks that Rukia may know… and with that (somewhat) comforting thought, he faced the hollow. Without losing time, Ichigo unsheathed his sword, and got ready to attack who (ironically) had saved him from the worst humiliation of his life. Those were the twists of fate. The hollow quickly used an arm, and stomped his fist in the same spot where Ichigo had been seconds ago. Ichigo jumped, using a light post as a platform to attack the hollow. Without any inconvenient, he used Zangetsu to slash his enemy's mask, vaporizing him in the process. After checking that weren't any more hollows in the area, he sheathed Zangetsu and began to jump back home.

When arriving, he checked cheerfully (not too much, but enough) that Rukia wasn't in his room anymore, or in the house for that matter. She had gone shopping to Urahara's or something like that. He came back to his body, and leaned in his bed, sighing. After everything that had happened today, he was sure that his headache was still pretty far from going away.

* * *

_And so we reach the end of this chapter. This is one of my favorites, so I think you're gonna enjoy it. Well, one last thing. I just, just turned 18, so, if you have enjoyed the story so far and wanna give the author a nice gift, leave a review :). Thanks, and see ya in the next chapter!_


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